Little Li, already feeling apologetic about the earlier incident, hadn’t expected to encounter Princess Yun Ni’s group, making the situation awkward against his intentions. Seeing Han Yan trying to ease the tension, he quickly responded, “That was the Left Minister’s eldest son, who also studies martial arts here.”
The Left Minister’s eldest son… something flickered in Han Yan’s mind. She finally remembered that in her previous life, due to her marriage to Wei Ru Feng, Zhuang Shi Yang had explained various court relationships to her. Though she hadn’t paid much attention to such matters, she did have some impression of the Left Minister.
Left Minister He Lian Wu Ming had one son, He Lian Yu, born to his wife. He was renowned for his stunning beauty and captivating appearance. He had won countless hearts among the capital’s young ladies. He Lian Yu was known for his romantic nature and bold behavior, being both loved and hated – quite an unconventional character.
Such a person would surely disregard conventions, yet surprisingly he came to study martial arts here. It seemed the Shunchang Martial Arts School had more genuine skill than she had imagined.
The martial arts school occupied vast grounds, with simple and clean decorations predominantly in black and white. The gray walls and blue tiles displayed a certain hardness in character. After passing through the entrance and around a flower bed, Han Yan felt her view suddenly brighten and open up. Before her lay an open space, with the sounds of practice and combat coming from the distance – presumably the training disciples.
Han Yan kept her gaze straight ahead, following Little Li down a corridor. After several turns and climbing a high flight of stairs, they arrived at a great hall.
Little Li led Han Yan’s group into the hall and respectfully addressed the central figure: “Ancestral Master, these young ladies are here to see Master Wu.”
Han Yan looked at the person seated in the central position – an elder in his sixties with white hair and beard, yet with rosy cheeks, sitting with his eyes closed. His left hand gripped an iron weight, and he sat perfectly straight. Despite the bitter cold of early winter, the elder wore only a single brown garment, truly displaying remarkable vigor and dignified bearing.
Hearing Little Li’s words, the elder suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shooting directly at Han Yan.
Han Yan kept her head slightly lowered but met the elder’s gaze steadily, performing a proper greeting: “This commoner pays respects to Lord Yang.”
Yang Qi narrowed his eyes. In all his years, he had seen many people, including bold women, but rarely had anyone remained so composed under his gaze. Incredibly, the person before him appeared to be barely more than a child.
This was quite unexpected.
“I am no longer a court official. The title ‘Lord’ is more than this old man deserves,” he finally said.
“This commoner was presumptuous, Elder Master Yang,” Han Yan smoothly corrected herself.
A barely noticeable flash of surprise crossed Yang Qi’s eyes – she showed some quick wit. He played with the iron weight in his hand and asked, “You say you’re here to see Master Wu?”
Han Yan respectfully answered, “Yes.”
“On whose behalf do you seek him?” Yang Qi could see that among the three, the other two showed deferential attitudes toward Han Yan. His keen eye for people allowed him to determine almost instantly that Han Yan was their master. As for why they were dressed this way, it was obviously to conceal their true identities. Such concealment suggested Han Yan’s status was not low, and her composed and graceful bearing wasn’t something a common household could nurture. A young lady from a noble family coming to the martial arts school wouldn’t be seeking a master for herself.
“This commoner dares to seek Master Wu for herself.”
At these words, both Ji Lan and Shu Hong were startled. Yang Qi also felt surprised and immediately darkened his expression: “Young lady, are you making sport of this old man? How can a woman seek a martial arts master?”
Yang Qi, having been a martial arts champion scholar, possessed a naturally imposing presence, especially when frowning – his furrowed brows were particularly intimidating. No wonder Little Li was wary of him, and not without reason. Unfortunately, this did not affect Han Yan, as she understood there was no conflict of interest between herself and Yang Qi, thus no real danger.
Just as Little Li was secretly sweating for the perpetually smiling young lady in the hall, a clear, laughing voice suddenly rang out: “Elder Master Yang, does your martial arts school have a rule against accepting female disciples?”
Yang Qi started, looking up to see the young lady before him with bright eyes, showing not a trace of fear, as if addressing an old friend of many years. Before he could speak, she continued: “This commoner has long heard that Shunchang Martial Arts School stands alone among the great schools, with the former martial arts champion scholar being its best advertisement. However, this commoner believes that Shunchang’s enduring prosperity stems from its uniqueness compared to other schools. And that uniqueness lies in its absolute fairness.”
“Everyone knows that at Shunchang Martial Arts School, whether from humble homes or noble families, all must train together. This gives equal opportunity to those from modest backgrounds. This commoner believes that whoever established this rule must be upright and noble.”
Yang Qi’s heart jolted violently. He had come from a humble background, learning martial arts in his youth through the guidance of a master. His family had been poor, and to change their circumstances, he had trained arduously until finally getting the chance to compete in the martial grounds, winning the title of martial arts champion scholar.
Precisely because of his humble origins, he deeply understood the difficulties faced by students from poor families. Opening Shunchang Martial Arts School was fulfilling his childhood dream. Those training disciples from humble backgrounds reminded him of his younger self. Very few people knew this, yet today, it was unveiled by a young lady many times his junior!
“If fairness can be achieved between rich and poor, why not between men and women? Does Elder Master Yang truly believe that being female is more lowly than being of humble birth? If so, how should the current Empress and Empress Dowager regard themselves?”
To bring up the current Empress and Empress Dowager in argument – though outrageous, it was indeed logical. If he refused to accept female students, it would suggest that in his heart, women were more lowly than students of humble birth. Yet the Empress and Empress Dowager were the most noble women under heaven. Such an implication would be a great disrespect to the royal family of him, Yang Qi. He suddenly realized he had no way to refute this argument!
After a long silence, Yang Qi suddenly burst into laughter: “What a sharp-tongued girl!”
Han Yan maintained her previous posture: “This commoner simply wishes to seek a martial arts master. If this has offended the Elder Master, it is this commoner’s fault. Please forgive me.”
Yang Qi stared at the young girl before him. Though she appeared only around ten years old, she could withstand his pressure and speak eloquently, maintaining neither servile nor arrogant behavior, knowing when to press forward and when to retreat. She understood both how to apply pressure and when to speak softly – truly wise. This intelligence and composure would surely become even more remarkable with time. If this girl had been born male, he would have considered taking on a small disciple, but alas.
He sighed: “Your words make sense, but unfortunately, all the training disciples in this old man’s school are male. If you wish to seek a master, you would need to join the school and mix with numerous men, which is truly inappropriate. If ill-intentioned people learned of this and spread the word, your reputation would suffer.”